Froome is in third place, a further 32 seconds behind, and is said to have all but conceded that he won’t be defending his crown and will throw his support behind teammate, Thomas.

“That’s professional cycling, that’s what a team is all about. I’m happy just to be in the position I’m in. I’ll still fight for the podium and obviously we want to see ‘G’ up there in yellow,” the Guardian quoted Froome as saying.

Team Sky has accepted the incident with the French officer was a mistake, but Tour fans are said to be more cynical, with Froome having been spat at and shoved by angry spectators in previous days amid resentment at Team Sky’s dominance of the event.

Benoit Tessier / ReutersChris Froome, right, and Team Sky teammate Geraint Thomas who is leading the Tour de France

While the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed that one of Froome’s urine samples at the Vuelta a España last September did exceed the permitted levels of salbutamol, a medication that opens up the airways in the lungs, it was satisfied that it did not constitute an adverse analytical finding.